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Bloodwood
A bloodwood tree is a hard wood tree that looks like a cross between a maple (by its's leaves) and a beech (by its grey-white bark). The wood of the tree is blood red and its sap is similarly colored. Cuting into a blood wood tree often would leave the woodsman splattered with enough of the thin sap that makes it looks like he's slaughtered a pig. The leaves, similarly red, retain their color throughout the growing cycle, never having a 'green' stage like others though their color will shift between a yellow-based red in spring, to a true red in summer and fade into an orange-red in fall. Size Blood Wood trees have a fairly round canopy like an oak tree with a wide circle of surface roots that keep it well-anchored into the ground. Tradition dictates that the blood wood tree has roots extending out into the earth as wide as it has branches. Additionally, the roots of the tree reach deep into the earth - some say as deep as it is tall though few have ever been able to provide reliable proof. The tree can easily reach between thirty and fifty feet in height by a few decades and then will spend the rest of its time filling out to a massive trunk. One blood wood tree in the south marches had a trunk that six men, stretching hand to hand could not wrap around it. Reproduction Every fall, the branches of the Blood Wood tree are filled with thumb-sized berries which look like black cherries. The berry (called Blood Berry ) is a sweet and succulent fruit with a deep, purple-red juice that has been gathered and turned into Blood Berry Wine ; a quite potent beverage that would stain any cloth and flesh it touches into a deep burgundy color. Locations *March of Blackthorn Mythology Legends among the followers of Shalune suggest that the first Bloodwood tree was born of the heart of a victm cut by one of the first witches to proclaim their faith in her. With their magic, they planted the acorn from a silver oak with the heart at the heart of their sacred grove and the blood wood is what grew out of such a union. From that first tree, blood berries were bore and carried by the followers of the first coven and scattered throughout the land. Eventually scattered to the wind by birds and beats alike to ensure that they could not be destroyed by the enemies of the goddess of witches. Magical Uses Blood wood trees are often saught by evil witches and druids as they are said to possess the a great spirit within them. Many witches and druids will carve faces into the trunk of the tree allowing the bloody sap to weep from the eyes and mouth and run down its white-grey bark in its season. Many a stone altar is constructed before a blood wood tree where by the witch/druid/wither would either infuse it with life essence or attempt to contact their goddess, Shalune. When a bloodwood tree is claimed by a witch or druid for their magical purposes, they claim it in the name of Shalune by carving a face into its wood so that their goddess might speak to them through it. By doing so, they are effectively dedicating the tree to their goddess and removing it from Sylvana, the goddess of the forests. Resources *Blood Wood (material) *Blood Amber *Blood Berry Category:Flora/Tree Category:Flora/Marches Category:Flora/Woodlands